Carrier system



June 18, 1935. J. M. SCANLAN CARRIER SYSTEM Filed Dec. 19, 1931 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 I NVE N TOR- JOJIEPH ll JCANLAN ATTORNEY- J. M. SCANLAN CARRIER SYSTEM June 18, v 1935.

Filed Dec. 19, 1931 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIGJO.

INVENTOR- JOSEPH I! SC/MIL/M' ATTORNEY- Patented June 18, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT} orr es 2,005,396, CARRIER SYSTEM Joseph'M. Scanlan, Great Neck,. N. Y; assignor to G & G A la Systems, Inc., New York; N. Y., a corporation of- New York Application December 19, 1931,. Serial No. 582.0%

Claims.

type gives rise to many problems. which are not: I

encountered in the more common.cashcarrier systems in which considerably smallercarriers V I g a portion of the closure for the carrier.

are employed.

In the operation of a dispatch system of the type contemplated, it is ordinarily desired tov be able to transmit documents from any one of a large number of points in a building or group of buildings to any other of the same or different group of points. Obviously, to provide pneumatic tubes connecting each point'directly with each of the other points would require a too complicated and expensive network of tubes. Accord ingly, it is necessary to provide a central station in the system to which the carriers from each point are first sent and from which they are dispatched without inspection of their contents to the points of ultimate destination.

An object of the present invention has been to improve the equipment at such central stations generally and more particularly for the pur pose of simplifying the handling of the carriers so that they may be expedited in their transit from one point to another and so that the space required for the equipment may be conserved as far as possible. Where the carriers are of a size sufficient to carry large documents, say for exam ple inches long. it is necessary to employ equipment, such as tubes and the like, which hasno sharp bends and does not require thecarrier to follow any sharply deflected course. Bends in the tubing employed in such systems should, for example, have a radius of substantially 4 feet. or more. By the provision of the features of the present invention, as will be made more clear from the detailed description which will follow, a very substantial conservation in space is e!- fected and at the same time a minimum time element is required for the dispatch of the carriers at the central station.

assume will now be described in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

(or. era-19) Figure 1 is a diagrammatic elevational view showing the arrangement of the equipment actor. ciated with the central station;

Figurezis a horizontal sectional view along; the

line 2-4 of Figure 1 showing aconveyor employed. 5.

inthe system v Figure 3 is a horizontal sectional view alongthe line 3--3 of Figure 1 showing another conveyor employed in the system.

'Figure 4 is a perspective view of one of the carriers. i

Figure 5 is a detail of a pair of dials carried by the carrier. i l Figure 6 is a detail showing the inside face of Tisa sectional view along the line 1-| of Figured I Figure 8 is a longitudinal sectional view through the'carrier' adjacent one end showing a, modified construction.

Figure 9 is a view similar to Figure 8 with a flag member shown in a different position, and Figure 10 is a face view of a small section or a carrier showing its permanent number appliedthereto.

Referring now to the drawings, the central station equipment of the pneumatic carrier system is shown in Figure 1 as being. suitably arranged on three separate floors, 9, H] and I I, of a buildingin which the system is installed; It is to be understood, however, that the arrangement maybe readily modified so as to embody all of this equipment on a single floor. An advantage of the arrangement illustrated is that it saves iloor space by utilizing to better advantage the room available in a vertical direction in buildings wherethe installations are made. Allof'the equipment under the arrangement shown may be confined to a vertical shaft or well in the building, having a relatively small cross sec- 40 tional area.

' A series of pneumatic carrier tubes 12, adapted to convey carriers I3 of the type shown in Figure 4,terminate a slight distance above a continuously moving conveyor such as a belt H4, or the like. It will be understood that the tubes which thus terminate above the belt extend to various points throughout the building, either on the same or different floors. If desired, they may even extend to points in other adjacent buildings. Some of the tubes may approach the terminal point from below while others may ap- One admirable form which the invention may proach from above, the system being always so constructed as to provide bends of relatively large radius, preierably 5 feet or more, at all points :vhere a change of direction is required in the ube.

The conveyor belt I4 is carried by a pair of rollers l5 and I6 at opposite ends and may, if desired, be supported intermediate its ends by as many similar rollers as may be required to suitably support the same. Any appropriate means may be provided for continuously driving the belt at a desired rate of speed; for example an electric motor may either be directly or indirectly connected to one of the rollers at the end of the belt. This conveyor system is preferably enclosed by a housing I! supported by the floor Sand having side members I'H extending above the belt a sufficient distance to prevent the carriers from dropping off the belt onto the floor.. These sides may advantageously extend to, or slightly above, the lower ends of the tubes l2.

Now, as the carriers l3 are dropped upon the belt M, the continuous movement ofthe latter toward the left, in Figures 1 and 2, will serve to carry them toward a vertical chute |8.. This; chute, in accordance with the present invention is preferably divided into a number of separate, vertical chamiels I9, and 2! by meansoi suitable vertical partition walls 22 and 23. The number of these channels may vary in accordance with the particular nature and extent of the equipment. Suitable extensions may be provided on .the partition walls 22 and 23 for the purpose of forming three short, horizontal channels at the left end of the conveyor belt merging with the vertical channels. It will be obvious that by the arrangement shown the'carriers as they are brought toward the chute l 8. on the belt l4 may be distributed between the three separate horizontal and vertical channels. In order that the carriers may be properly directed toward-the desired channel, the side walls "I adjacent the conveyor belt are preferably broken away at one,

or both, of the points 24- and 25 so that an operator stationed opposite one of these points, or if desired two operators stationed opposite both points, may, by means of a stick or simply by the, use of the hand, cause each carrierito properly enter the desired one of the channels. I

A feature of the invention in connection with this distribution or assortment of the carriers between the several channels isthe provision of carriers of distinct or characteristic outward ap-' pearance, being, for example of different 'configuration or of different colors. If a suitable color scheme is adopted, the entire carrier may be appropriately colored or merely a portion of it 1 maybe so colored. When three channels are provided, as illustrated, the carriers may, for example, be entirely orin part either tan, black or red and each, according to its color,.may be directed into the appropriateone of the vertical channels I9, 20 and 2!. Black carriers may, for example, be directed by the operator stationed at 24 into the channel l9, whereas "tan carriers may be suitably directedinto the channelZB and red carriers may be suitably directed into the channel'Zl. All that the operator stationed at 24 needs'to be concerned with is the proper distribution of the carriers between the three channels in accordance with their colors. To assist him in this work and to thus obviate to the greatest extent possible the requirement of any mental exertion, the walls of the channel may be appropriatelycolored, either completely or in part,.to correspond to the colors'of the car'riersxFor example, a portion of the walls of the channel l9 will, under the system previously mentioned,.be of a black color so as to constantly remind the operator that the black carriers are to be directed toward it. Similarly, a visible portion of the channel 2.? will be colored brown or tan and a portion of the channel 2| will be colored red.

Referring now to Figures 1 and 3, the three channels i9, 28 and 2| terminate in a curved lip portion 26 directly above a conveyor belt 27 whose upper surface is constantly moving toward the right. Any suitable means may be provided for continuously advancing the belt 21; for example an electric motor 21! may be properly connected to'the supporting roller at the right end of the belt so as to continuously rotate this roller. If desired, a plurality of intermediate supporting rollers may also be provided within the loop of the belt. Suitable enclosing members 212 may be provided around the conveyor, and these, together with intermediate partition walls 213 above the conveyor, will serve to divide the latter into three separate channels. The channel 28 may serveto guide the carriers from the bottom of the channel E9 to a vertically disposed chute 29 while a channel may serve to guide the tan carriers from the bottom of the channel 20 to a vertically disposed chute 3i, and a third channel 32 may serve to guide the red carriers from the channel 2! to a vertically disposed chute 33.

As best'shown in Figure l, the conveyor 21 is preferably located just below the ceiling of the 1 room on floor H and the chutes 28, Si and 33 extend downwardly to suitable tables 34, 35 and 36 on the floor l I. An opening is provided at the bottom of each of the chutes 29, 3i and 33 to permit the carriers to be discharged onto the tables and dispatched by an operator stationed at each of the tables to the appropriate destination of the carrier. This, as will be more fully explained hereinafter, is denoted by means of certain dials on the carrier which are set at the initial point of transmission to designate the point of destination. A series of tubes 36! have their open receiving ends adjacent the table so that the operators stationed at these tables may, upon inspecting the dials designating the proper destination, insert each of the carriers into the appropriate one of the dispatch tubes. Twenty-four tubes are shown adjacent each of the tables. Obviously, a greater number of tubes, up to a maximum capable of being efficiently handled by a single operator, or by several operators, may be located, if desired, adjacent each station and a greater number of stations, attended by a greater number of operators, or dispatchers, may be provided. Animportant feature of the system is the arrangement whereby only black carriers, for example, are directed to the table 34 whereas only tan carriers are directed to the table 35 and only red carriers are directed to the table 36. The reason'for this will appear more fully hereinafter when a summaryof the operation of the system is given.

Thus far the description has referred merely to the handling and distribution of the carriers delivered through the tubes !2 to the conveyor M. Another group of delivery tubes l2! may be provided'on the floor iii, terminating just above a similar conveyor belt M! which is adapted to convey the carriers toward the chute l8. An opening 3? in the side of the chute is provided for the purpose of permitting introduction of the carriers into the chute. An arrangement similar to that shown in Figure 2 will be provided to permit one or more operators stationed at the left end of from the fioor IQ are mingled with the carriers 1 from the: floor above. and each is passed to the appropriate one of the tables 34,35 and 36. Obviously, a separate vertical chute may be provided, if desired, from the conveyor I4I to the belt 21 so as to avoid injury to the carriers due to the possible conflict within a single chute between a pair of the same delivered substantially simultane- .ously from the two conveyors I4 and I4 I Such a separate chute, if provided, would have precisely the same relation to the conveyor belts as the chute I8 Referring now to Figures4, 5, 6 and '7, each of the carriers I3 is provided with a closure member 38 at one end which may be hinged in any suitable way, as by means of a leather hinge 39, to the side wall of the carrier. In the preferred form of the latter, it is preferably covered on its exterior surface with leather .and has an enlarged base I36 formed of felt and adapted to act as the piston head in the transmission of the carriers through the pneumatic tubes. A retaining flap 4!), preferably of leather, is adapted to normally hold the closure member 38 in, the position shown in Figure 4, a snap-latch 4I being provided to fasten the closure in this position. Obviously, this construction may be modified in any suitable way and, if desired, the snap-latch maybe replaced by any suitable form of look when the documents or the papers placed in the carrier are valuable and of a negotiable nature. Suitable openings 42 and 43 are provided in the closure member to reveal the numbers on a pair of discs 44 and 45 which are adjustably mounted on the rear face of the member. These discs may each be carried by a pin 46 extending through the closure member and having mounted on its inner end a plurality of spring elements 41 retained by washers 48 and the over-turned ends 49 of the pin, which may advantageously be of a modified cotter-pin construction. The springs 41 will urge the disc against the rear face of the closure member so as to frictionally retain the disc in any position of adjustment. A handle 50 may be secured in any suitable way to the disc to permit it to be readily turned from one position to another. 1

As best shown in Figure 5, the disc 44 which is intended to indicate the tens digit of the number designating the destination station,carries only a limited series of numbers whereas the disc 45 carries the full quota from one'through nine to zero; By this arrangement it is possible to set up only a limited group of numbers on the pair of dials. For example where the dials 44 and 45 are stamped as shown in the drawings, it is only possible to set up numbers between 40 and I9 on the particular carrier providedwith these dials. Now, it is proposed, in accordance with the present invention, to equip carriers of a definite color with dials of this sort, whereas carriers of another color are equipped with dials having another group of tens digits; for example, the black carriers may have only numbers ll, I, 2 and 3 on the tens dial so that destination stations between I and 39 may be set up. The tan carriers may have the dials indicatedin the drawings capable of designatingstations between 40 and 19 while the red carriers may have the numbers 3, 9, I I! and I I on the dial 44 so that numbers between 80 and II 9 may be set up. In setting the dials of the black carriers to designate stations I to 9, the

tens dial should be set to indicate 0.

A brief summary of the operation of the system may now be given: I

At each of the sending within which the system is installed there should points of the building 5;.

be provided a number of each of the different colored carriers I3. Amuming, now, thatone'of the sendiing points desires to send a document to another station designated 6!, the sender will select a tan carrier under the assumed layout of the system and will adjust its dials to read GI through the openings 42 and 43. Had the sender by mistake selected either a black or a red carrier, he would have been unable to set up the de sired destination'station number. After the documents have been properly inserted and the dials properly set, the carrier is placed in the sending tube and is discharged at the opposite end I2 or I2I, as the case may be, onto one or the other of the conveyor belts I4 and MI. Assuming. that the tube in question terminated above the belt I4, the carrier would be broughtto the point 24 Where its color would be noted by the operator stationed'here and it would be properly shifted oraligned by the operator so as to enter the channel 20. It should be observed that the op erator at this point need not remove the carrier from the conveyor but may merely change its course slightly by means of his hand or a stick, as the carrier continues its movement. At the bottom of the vertical channel 29 the carrier is directed by the deflector 26 onto the belt Elwithin the appropriate channel 38 formed between the guide members 273. The continuous'movement of the belt 21 will then convey the carrier to the chute 3I by means'of which it will be deposited on the table 35. The dispatcher or operator'at this table, who receives only the tan carriers, has before him the open sending ends of the tubes terminating at the stations numbered between 46 and I9. Upon observing the number set up on the dials, the dispatcher inserts the carrier into the tube, in this instance designated GI, and

the carrier with its documents is promptly trans- I mitted to the appropriate station. I

By the use of the system explained, there is little or no occasion for human error inasmuch as the operators stationed at the points 24 of the belts I4 and MI have .only to observe the color of each carrier as it moves along and direct itto a correspondingly colored channel of the chute.

their intended destinations. If the conveyors I4, MI and 21 are advanced at a speed of; say, 200

reading the dials and'inserting the carriers in the corresponding tubes, the carriers will reach feet per minute, the carriers may be handled through the central station equipment in an average time of, say, thirty seconds and the entire transmission from the initial sending to the final receiving station may consume only one minute. The efficiency of handling andtransmission enabled by the provisions of the present invention I greatly increases the capacity of a system of given size, as regards the number of carriers which may be dispatched per hour.

Furthermore, the new system lends itself readily to future expansion so that an installation made at the present time may be readily modified a number of years hence to take care of the normal expansion of the business served by thesystem, without the necessity of any material additional expense at the time of initial installation. For example when the system has originally been laid out with two conveyor belts l4 and MI as shown and an operator is employed at each-of the dispatching tables, expansion of the business may be taken care of by the addition of another conveyor belt similar to I4 on the same or another floor and the number of dispatchers at the various tables 34, etc. may be increased.

At the end of the day, or any other suitable period, a re-distribution of the carriers may be desirable. It may be found, for example, that certain stations have more than their quota of the black carriers and too few of the red or perhaps the supply of tan carriers will be exhausted completely. To insure having carriers of all colors available at each station at all times a redistribution may be made periodically. Thus, at the end of each period the number of each type of carrier on hand at each station may be reported to the dispatching station and any excess over a given quota of one color may be sent to the dispatching station. Any sending station which reports a deficiency in carriers of a given color will then be supplied by the dispatcher with carriers of this color.

In Figures 8 to 10 inclusive there is shown a somewhat different scheme for insuring proper distribution of the carriers. Each carrier may, for example, bear a number, indicated by reference character 5| in Figure 10, impressed or printed upon its face. This number may designate the sending station to which the carrier is originally allotted. Each station may for example have two or three carriers of each color definitely assigned to it. When one of these carriers is sent out with a document it must later'be returned to the original sending station whose number is stamped on its face. Now in order to permit the distributing system to function properly in the return of a carrier as well as in its initial transmission means must be provided to substitute the color designation of the original sending station for the color designation of the designation station from which itis beingreturned. Thus if a red carrier has been sent from a station in the black group to one in the red group it is necessary upon the return of the carrier to cancel the red group designation and replace it by a black group designation. For this purpose each carrier may be provided with a small flag 52 formed of leatheror cloth 0);.Oth6l suitable material. This flag, in each case, should bear the color of the group corresponding with the number 5! stamped on the face of the carrier. The flag may be secured in any suitable way to the under surface of the closure 38 of the carrier, preferably at a point between the dials. When the carrier is being sent from its own station the flag may simply'be concealed within the carrier as shown in Figure 9. The color of the carrier and the number set on the dials 44 and 45 will then determine the routing and ultimate destination of the carrier. When it is to be returned, however, the flag 52 is placed outside of the carrier as shown in Figure 8. It may suitably be provided with a small hole adapted to fit over the stud 53 with which the snap fastener carried by the strap 54 cooperates. The flag is preferably of suificient width to conceal the reading openings through which the dials are normally visible. This prevents confusion and any attempt to return the carriers to the station set up on the dials. It will be apparent other.

that if the flag is red the carrier, which itself may be black, will be routed with the red carriers and will be inserted by the dispatcher in the tube corresponding with the number 5! appearing on its face.

While-this flag system is particularly useful in the return of carriers to their home stations as specified, it may also be used in other ways to designate the destination of a carrier. For example in lieu of providing difierent colored carriers they may all be of one color and each may be provided with three different colored flags similar to flag 52. If the carrier is to be sent to a station in the red group the red flag may be placed under the fastener on the outside of the carrier and the others may be left inside. The carrier will then be routed in the same way as before by the distributor to the dispatcher of carriers in the red-group who will note the number of the station dialed and dispatch it accordingly. This carrier may be returned to the sending point by pulling out the appropriate flag and setting the dials to indicate the correct station. However, this will not normally be necessary since every carrier is available for sending to any station and it is not necessary that the same carrier be returned to any given station. The flags in this case should be relatively narrow so as not to conceal the dial readings. They may be arranged as three separate parallel bands or ribbons or they may be superposed one over the In the latter event only one flag would be placed outside of the carrier for one color, say red, two flags would be out for another color, say black, and three flags would be out for a third color, say brown. Where two flags are out, the black would conceal the red and of three flags the brown would conceal the others. If desired the brown flag could be omitted and the omission of a flag could be taken to indicate brown. This use of the flags will reduce to a considerable degree the number of carriers required on hand at each station since each carrier is then available for sending to any station. It will be understood that in this case the dials must be so constructed that they may be set to designate any station in the system.

While several forms of the invention have been set forth in considerable detail in the foregoing description, it will be understood that this is purely for the purposes of illustration and that many changes may be made in the construction and arrangement of the elements without departing from the general spirit and scope of the invention. The terms which have been employed herein have been used merely to describe the illustrative embodiment and are not to be regarded as imposing any limitation on the invention.

What I claim is:

1. In a central station installation for pneumatic carrier systems embodying a plurality of sub-stations and a plurality of tubes arranged to transmit carriers from any sub-station in the system to any other through the central station, a single channeled conveyor adapted to receive carriers from said tubes, multi-channelled means adapted to selectively receive said carriers directly and without lifting from said conveyor for selectively conveying said carriers to a plurality of dispatch points, and tube inlets adjacent said dispatch points grouped in relation to the selection made at said .multi-channeled means to receive carriers for transmission to selected destinations.

2. In a central station installation for pneumatic carrier systems embodying a plurality of sub-stations and a plurality of tubes arranged to transmit carriers from any sub-station in the system to any other through the central station, a conveyor adapted to receive carriers indiscriminately from said tubes, said carriers being distinguishable at a glance as between a plurality of groups, means cooperating directly with said conveyor for selectively conveying said carriers without intervening lifting to a plurality of dispatch points each related to one of said groups, and tube inlets at each of said points for receiving carriers of a particular group for transmission to corresponding stations.

3. In a pneumatic carrier system embodying a plurality of sub-stations and a plurality of tubes arranged to transmit carriers from any substation in the system to any other through the central station, carriers having different colors thereon to distinguish the same according to groups, a conveyor adapted to indiscriminately receive said carriers of all colors from said tubes, multi-channelled means adapted todirectly and selectively receive said carriers from said conveyor without lifting and convey them to a plurality of dispatch points, said points correspond ing to the channels in said means and to the colors on said carriers, and tube inlets adjacent each of said points to receive carriers for transmission to their selected destinations related to a particular color distinction.

4. In a central station installation for pneumatic dispatch systems embodying a plurality of sub-stations and a plurality of tubes arranged to transmit carriers from any sub-station in the system to any other through the central station, means adapted to indiscriminately receive carriers from said tubes and convey the same toa distributing point, means adapted'to selectively receive carriers directly and without lifting from said first mentioned means at said point and selectively convey the same to a plurality of dispatch stations, and tube inlets at said dispatch stations grouped according, to the selection made at the distributing point and adapted to receive said carriers for transmission to selected destinations.

5. In a pneumatic dispatch system arranged to transmit carriers from any one of a plurality of points to any other of said points, a plurality of carriers, means on said carriers for designating points of destination, said carriers being distinguishable in appearance according to groups of destination points, means for conveying all of said carriers indiscriminately to a distributing station for separation into said groups, means adapted to selectively receive said carriers from said station without manual lifting and for conveying eachgroup of carriers to a separate dispatch station, and tube inlets at each of said a definite destination within the selected group.

dispatch stations related to one of said groups for dispatching said carriers according to the destinations designated thereon. 1 1 6. In a central station installation for pneumatic dispatch systems embodying a pluralityof sub-stations and a plurality of tubes arranged to transmit carriers from any sub-station in the system to any other through the central station, a plurality of conveyors adapted to receive car- .riers from said tubes, a multi-channelled chute adapted to receive said carriers directly from all of said conveyors, the channels in said chute being coordinated (with the ultimate destinations of said carriers and effecting apartial distribution thereof to a plurality of dispatch stations, and tube inlets at said dispatch stations to .re-

ceive all of the carriers delivered to the station for transmission to their ultimate destinations. '7. In a pneumatic dispatch system embodying a plurality of sub-stations and a plurality of tubes arranged to transmit carriers from any sub-station in the system to any other through the central station, a plurality of carriers di tinguishable in appearance according to groups of destinations, means on said carriers for designating ultimate destinations, a plurality of vertically alined conveyors adapted to receive said carriers from said tubes, a multi-channelled.

of said stations adapted to receive the carriers of a group for transmission to their designated ultimate destinations. V

8. A carrier for a pneumatic dispatch system which comprises a flexible member carried by the carrier and adapted to be enclosed within the interior of the carrier or swungto an. exposed position at will, said means when exposed designating a group of destinations, and means on said carrier for indicating a definite destination within said group. V

9. A carrier for a pneumatic dispatch system which comprises visual means fordesignatinga group of destinations, adjustable means for indi eating a definite destination within the interior of saidgroup and a flexible member carried by said carrier normally concealed within said cari 7 rier and adapted to be swung-toan exposed position to supersede said group'designating means.

10. A carrier for a pneumatic dispatch system which comprises flexible flag means attached to said carrierand adaptedto be concealed within the carrier or selectively exposed at will to conspicuously designate any one of a plurality of groups of destinations, and means for indicating JOSEPH M. SCANLAN. 

